Occupation Profile

Learn details about any occupation including what you might do on the job, how much you might earn, and how much education or training you might need.

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Provide routine individualized healthcare such as changing bandages and dressing wounds, and applying topical medications to the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities at the patient's home or in a care facility. Monitor or report changes in health status. May also provide personal care such as bathing, dressing, and grooming of patient.

Transcript:
Home health aides make a major difference in the lives of their clients— providing essential health care that their families may not be able to offer. Home health aides help the elderly… people with disabilities… and those recovering from illness… with basic healthcare tasks such as changing dressings and administering medications. They monitor their clients’ health and report changes in status to licensed nursing staff, who direct their work. Home health aides may also help with routine tasks like feeding, bathing and dressing… and, depending on their clients’ needs, may assist with other personal care such as light housekeeping and meal preparation. Most home health aides work in clients’ homes, but they may also work in small group homes, hospice care, and adult day care facilities. Some home health aides see the same client daily for years, while others work with new clients often. Although there is no formal education requirement, most home health aides have a high school diploma. Jobs in certified home health or hospice agencies require formal training and certification. Additional certification requirements vary from state to state. While this career can be emotionally and physically demanding—clients… and their families… rely on the skills and integrity of home health aides.

Outlook information can tell you whether a career is expected to be in demand in the future—that is, whether there are likely to be job openings if you choose this career. Careers can have one of three outlooks:

A Bright outlook means new job opportunities are very likely in the future

An Average outlook means that a small number of new job opportunities are likely in the future (less than an 8 percent increase)

A Below Average outlook means new job opportunities are less likely in the future

You can also view local job listings in this field by clicking "Find job openings" above. This can help you see if local businesses are hiring—another way of looking at demand.

What is the source of this information?

This information comes from the O*NET Resource Center. Learn more about O*NET’s Bright Outlook occupations. Note this information is only available at a national level, so even if you selected a state, you’ll only see this information for the whole country.

Projected employment shows how much employment is expected to grow in this occupation over a 10-year period. This can help you decide if this career is a good choice for future job opportunities. You can look at projected employment in your state, or in other states where you might consider living.

You can see the total number of people employed in this occupation in 2014, the number expected to be employed in 2024, and rate of growth over those years.

The projections are based on assumptions including a 5.2 percent unemployment rate in 2024 and labor productivity growth of 1.8 percent annually over the 10 years. While the projected numbers may not be exact, they are helpful to compare one career to another, or one location to another.

This chart shows you a range of how much most workers in this occupation earn per hour, in the location that you selected.

You can select from three views of this data:

The Graph shows you wages at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles. Note that the lowest (10th %ile) wage shown is not necessarily a "starting wage." Instead it means that 10 percent of all workers in this career earn less that this amount, and 90 percent earn more. However, you can assume that you might earn close to the 10th or 25th %ile wages when you start out in most careers.

Select "Chart" to see a visual comparison between national wages and wages in the location you selected.

Select "Table" to see more wage data the national and local level.

Please note that wage data are not available at the city or ZIP code level. If you selected a city or ZIP code, you will see wage data for the regional area.

You can learn more about wages for this and other occupations by clicking “See more wages” above.

This shows you the typical level of education, work experience, and on-the-job training that most people have when they start in this career. Note that these are not requirements for entering this field, but the information can help you understand how qualified you might be.

Interested in starting in this career? You can search for education programs in your local area by clicking “Find local training” above.

What is the source of this information?

This information comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections Education and Training Data.

This chart shows you the range of education levels that people who currently work in this field have. You can use this to see if you fit in this range. Note that this includes ALL people who work in this field and not just those getting started.

Interested in getting qualified for this career? You can search for programs that lead to the education needed, in your local area, by clicking “Find local training” above.

What is the source of this information?

This information comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections Education and Training Data.

When you click "Find certifications" you'll see a list of national certifications that are related to this career. From there, you can learn how to achieve one of these certifications to help you enter or get ahead in this field.

What is the source of this information?

This collection of occupational certifications is collected and regularly updated by CareerOneStop. Learn more at Certification Finder Help.

When you click "Find license details in your state" you'll see the license name and contact information for the agency in your state that oversees licensing for this field. If you have not selected a location, you'll see a list of all state licenses for this occupation.

What is the source of this information?

Information on licensed occupations is gathered in each state by Labor Market Information units under a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Learn more at License Finder Help.

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Social - Occupations with Social interests frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. Most involve helping or providing service to others.

Realistic - Occupations with Realistic interests frequently involve practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.